SIDE BY SIDE
Growing Missions Impact Through Media Ministry God Centered Life leverages the College Church pulpit for global impact. Once or twice a month Pastor Josh descends into an eerily quiet, almost tomb-like basement suite of offices across the street from College Church. In the hushed, soundproof studios of Gap Digital, over the course of just an hour or so, he records twenty radio programs for God Centered Life (GLC) with the help of announcer Todd Busteed. The completed sessions then eventually find their way onto the internet and over the airwaves to audiences not just here in the Chicago area, but also in Cleveland, Des Moines and Canton, Georgia (near Atlanta). Recently, the radio distribution expanded to cover all central Illinois, from the Indiana border on the east to the Mississippi on the west. Believers and the curious alike will now hear Josh’s teaching in cities like Springfield, ChampaignUrbana, Peoria and Quincy. Coupled with online listening opportunities in Dallas with KCBI radio online, the OnePlace teaching platform, and Transworld Radio’s TWR360 website, God Centered Life’s reach is nationwide and global. The recording sessions begin with preparations many weeks in advance of the airdates for the program. Making a daily radio broadcast is no small undertaking. Consider: five days a week, 52 weeks a year. That’s 260 broadcasts annually! The material presented each day grows out of past sermons Pastor Josh has preached at College Church. Each week as he preaches, the tech team captures a high-quality recording of the sermon. This recording is then edited by Todd and his staff into two segments, usually 18 to 20 minutes each. Almost every sermon provides material for two radio programs. At the monthly sessions with Todd, Pastor Josh records just a brief introduction for the beginning of the program and a closing conversation designed to apply the teaching to the listening audience. Todd introduces the program, then asks Josh a penetrating question. Todd plays the role of the listener, engaging in dialog and giving Josh a chance to set the table for the upcoming teaching. Todd, the announcer for GCL, is a recognized professional in the Christian radio and audio industry. He previously did on-air voicing and audio engineering for Moody Radio before launching Gap Digital, his own audio production company. Todd has worked on a wide range of radio and audio book projects and feels privileged to serve Pastor Josh and GCL. “Preparing for our recording sessions allows me to dig deeply into the messages from Josh, and I find myself challenged spiritually as I think through how we can best position the preaching to impact the lives of listeners,” he noted. Currently the series from the Gospel of John, Life to the Full, is playing for the radio and online audiences. Past offerings
included the series Romans - The Gospel of God, The Sermon on the Mount series iTeach, Genesis - A New Beginning, among others. Each program also features a selected resource designed to encourage spiritual growth in the listeners and is made available upon request for those who choose to support God Centered Life financially. If you have not had an opportunity to listen to the broadcast, you can do so easily by visiting the website at www.godcenteredlife.org. While there, why not sign up for the daily devotionals or the monthly newsletter, At the Center, which will keep you updated on the regular work of the ministry, and encourage you with a word from Pastor Josh. God Centered Life is headed by College Church member Stann Leff. He sees the growing reach of the broadcasts on the radio and online as good stewardship. “Week after week we benefit as a church from Pastor Josh’s gifted teaching of God’s Word. Through GCL we’re able to multiply the impact of his sermons, touching thousands of additional lives.” The total audience for the broadcast in any given week is difficult to measure with certainty, but conservatively more than 50,000 individuals hear the broadcast every month. Stann works closely with elder liaison Dan Lindquist, keeping the Council of Elders apprised of developments in the ministry and new initiatives planned. As Stann notes, “We are grateful for the ongoing support and encouragement of the elders on behalf of God Centered Life. The broadcasts are truly an extension of the mission outreach of College Church.” God Centered Life is officially an elder-approved partner ministry of College Church. To learn more, visit www. godcenteredlife.org. Your commitment to pray for the ministry and share the resources available at the site will foster greater reach of the gospel here in Wheaton and around the world.
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